New beginnings
by imfromvenus
Summary: Millie Hart has lived with her muggle aunt all her life. She's fifteen and has never thought that magic existed. Until a certain professor changes her mind. Will she be able to adapt to her new view of life? Story is better than summary, I swear! R&R:
1. Explanations

Millie was awoken by a knock at her bedroom door and her aunt's voice.

"Millie, dear, there's somebody here who wants to speak with you. I'll get him a cup of tea while you make yourself decent okay?"

The fifteen year-old's thoughts, upon hearing the "him" instantly went out to James, her boyfriend whom she had had a fight with the day before. Or perhaps Samantha, who had recently cut her hair short and had taken to dressing like a boy, insisting that everyone called her "Sam".

Millie rolled out of bed and completed her aunt's image of decency by sticking a pair of shorts and a bra on underneath her baggy t-shirt. She fluffed her hair into relative cuteness and rushed down the stairs after checking her reflection in the mirror.

Seated in one of her aunt's comfy armchairs, sipping tea from a dainty teacup, was an old man with an extremely long white beard that matched his hair. He wore a purple hat that was pointed and upright like Millie's Halloween dress-up hat and matching purple robes.

"Good morning, Miss Hart. I trust I didn't wake you with my early visit? The elderly tend to rise early, you see, I had quite forgotten you teenager's knack of sleeping until lunchtime. I'm Professor Dumbledore."

"Er...hi."

"Nice to meet you too" replied the professor, nodding good-naturedly at her

"Er, yeah, sorry, nice to meet you...sir" said Millie, tacking the "sir" on the end so as not to seem rude.

The old man smiled at her hesitancy with the "sir".

"I expect you're wondering why I'm here."

Millie opened her mouth to agree but Dumbledore continued without giving her time to reply.

"I'd like to offer you a place at my school. It's called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Normally, you would have entered when you were eleven, but you seem to have only just showed magical skill. Your mother was the same, you know. You're the only two people I've ever seen it happen to."

She didn't know what to say. She was stuck between bursting out laughing and running away screaming to the metal hospital. Luckily, the professor seemed to understand and stayed silent, looking at her expectantly.

"My...my mother? Witchcraft? What do you mean "magical skill"? And what's my mother got to do with anything?"

"Ah. Of course, your dear aunt wouldn't know anything about this. I'd better start at the beginning:

When your mother was fifteen, she was exactly like you. You're the spitting image of her, I must say. Anyway, we had been watching her since she was small, seeing as her great-great-grandmother was a witch, we thought she might be too. These things often skip a generation or two, you see.

On her fifteenth birthday, she got upset with your father. They were childhood sweethearts, you know. Anyway, she got angry and, being a witch, she made her birthday cake explode. Completely by accident, of course, these sort of things are very common in young witches and wizards.

After that incident, she was so obviously a witch that we couldn't possibly not let her into Hogwarts. The problem was that she had lived as a muggle for her whole life..." Dumbledore paused, seeing Millie's confused expression. "I am sorry, I use these expressions too easily. Muggles are non-magic people, not witches or wizards like you and I.

Anyway, all of Hogwarts students until then had started learning at the age of eleven. Being fifteen, your mother obviously couldn't start as a first year, but neither could she be put in fifth year classes with no idea of magic at all.

So I decided to teach her intensively, everything that her future classmates had learnt in four years. Luckily, she was a quick learner and had a great amount of talent for spells and such.

So, when term started, she was as prepared as any fifth year student, and started taking classes at Hogwarts until she graduated and started studying to be an Auror. When she was twenty-one, she met your father again, purely by chance and they fell in love just as they had when they were both teenagers. For him, she left her studies and forgot all about the magical world.

Three years later, you were born. We were watching you all through your early years, checking for even a scrap of magical talent. I suspected that you would be the same as your mother, showing magic at fifteen.

Alas, when you were three, there was that terrible plane crash. I attended your parent's funeral, even though you won't remember.

And now, Millie, I would like you to come and study magic with me so that when September comes, you will be able to attend Hogwarts like your mother did."

The teenage girl was shocked and her voice came out tentative and quiet.

"You mean to say that I'm a witch? And my mother too?"

Dumbledore nodded.

"That's impossible! You're crazy, if my mother was a witch she wouldn't have died, she wouldn't have left me all on my own!"

The professor looked sad and shook his head, making his beard waggle.

"Millie, no magic can wake the dead. Even witches and wizards have to die; we can't prevent our own deaths."

"Fine, maybe she was, but I'm not!"

Dumbledore looked at her pityingly. He had obviously seen this a million times before.

"Tell me about your fifteenth birthday."

"Okay, um...we went to the fair and there was this ride that everyone wanted to go on. They wanted me to go on too but I'm scared of hights and I said no. They were going to make me go on but I just looked at the ride and thought "I don't want to go on" and the ride stopped. But it was just a lucky coincidence, the fuse box had blown or something..."

"You don't really believe that, Miss Hart. You made it happen, because you're a witch."

"Maybe, but..."

The old man cut her off: "Millie, believe me, I've done this a thousand times before. Nobody believes it at first but you'll soon see how true it is. Just give me a chance to show you my world, your world and at the end of the summer, when you've learnt everything can show you, I'll let you decide whether to start at Hogwarts or carry on at your old muggle school."

She hesitated and decided to be crazy for once and accept his offer.

"Fine, just this summer. Prove to me that I'm a witch and you're a...wizard."

"Excellent." Professor Dumbledore stood up and smiled at Millie. Go and pack your trunk..._suitcase_ I believe you would call it. We're going on a five day trip to start your lessons."

Millie gave up trying to be normal and just went and did what he said. When her suitcase was filled, she couldn't lift it. Dumbledore seemed to understand her problem and muttered a spell under his breath. The suitcase lifted itself up and glided down the stairs to land at Dumbledore's side. She watched him incredulously and followed her suitcase down. There, she found her aunt smiling happily at her through her tears.

"Goodbye, dear, Mr. Dumbledore has explained everything. I'll see you in five days when you come to get your stuff, okay?"

"Sure, Aunty, I'll miss you" said Millie, hugging her tightly. "Bye now!"

With a wave of his wand, Dumbledore shrunk Millie's case and she picked it up and put it in her pocket. She then followed the wizard out of the door, away from the world she had known all her life.


	2. Diagon Alley

When they had got to the end of the road and were safely hidden in the shadows, Dumbledore turned to the fifteen year-old girl.

"We're going to have to Apparate to Diagon Alley. It's not a very pleasant sensation, I must warn you. Grip tightly to my arm and don't let go, whatever happens."

Millie held onto his forearm as tight as possible as the wizard spun on the spot and disappeared.

She felt as if she was being shoved through a thin tube. Her ears popped, her guts protested and she felt as if she was about to be sick. When they landed a few seconds later, she leaned over and dry-retched.

"That was _horrible_. Where are we?"

The professor chuckled at her evident dislike for his preferred method of travel and gripped the girl's shoulders and turned her around to face the street they were in.

"This, Millie, is Diagon Alley."

She looked around, eyes wide, taking in everything. The brightly coloured shop fronts, the many groups of witches and wizards that filled the alley. They all wore robes but very few had opted for a hat in the hot weather.

She ran over to the nearest shop, which happened to be Eeylops Owl Emporium.

"Can we go in?" she asked Dumbledore longingly

"I thought we should stop at the bank first" he replied with a chuckle.

Millie's happy face fell suddenly and she looked at the floor.

"What's the matter, Miss Hart?"

"I haven't got no money" she muttered unhappily

The old wizard smiled and said: "Your mother actually had an impressive amount of money in her vault, most of it left from her great-great-grandmother. It's all yours now, of course, as she had no need for it when she left the wizarding world."

"Oh! Er...great!"

Dumbledore started making his way to the big, white building a the end of the alley, nodding to everybody he passed as they waved at him or greeted him with a: "Professor!/Dumbledore!/Albus!"

The teenage girl quickly followed him and stayed close to his side as they entered the grand building. She jumped when a goblin approached.

"Professor Dumbledore, sir, I don't mean to be rude but...what are _they?_"

"They're goblins, Miss Hart, and I encourage you to never get on the wrong side of one of them."

Millie looked at the creatures with newfound curiosity and respect. Some of them returned her gaze haughtily until she opted to look at her feet instead.

She followed the wizard up to a counter where another goblin sat, weighing a bag of coins on golden scales.

"What is it you require, Albus Dumbledore?" it said in a voice that had the girl drawing back from the counter. The professor put his hand on her shoulder.

"Miss Hart here, you knew her mother as Miss Barnes, would like to make a withdrawal from vault number 859. I have her key here, of course" he said, showing the goblin a silver key.

It stretched out a hand and examined the key closely, weighed it and then decided it was okay.

The goblin called one of his inferiors over and told him to take them to vault 859. They both followed the goblin to the tunnel mouth and watched as it climbed into a wagon. Dumbledore climbed in after and they both looked expectantly at Millie.

"No way am I getting in there" she said shaking her head. The goblin looked annoyed and then pointed a long finger at her. She felt herself being dragged into the wagon and landed next to the professor.

"Oy!" she protested. The goblin just looked at her again and the wagon started moving. The teenage girl closed her eyes and waited for it to be over.

"Vault 859."

All three of them climbed out of the wagon and the goblin turned Millie's key in the lock and opened the metal door.

In the vault, was a huge pile of golden coins, an even bigger mound of silver coins and a whole corner full of little bronze coins.

"The gold ones are called Galleons. The silvers are Sickles and the bronze coins are Knuts." explained Dumbledore to a gobsmacked Millie. I recommend taking only a small bag seeing as this has to last you throughout your years in Hogwarts and your adult life."

Millie took the money bag that the professor held out to her and took four handfuls of Galleons, three of Sickles and two of Knuts. When the money bag was full, she left the vault and beckoned nervously to Dumbledore so that he would bend down to listen to her.

"Is this really all mine?" she asked anxiously

The old wizard laughed: "Of course it is. You're not the first one to be surprised by money left by your ancestors."

They left Gringott's and the professor led Millie to a narrow and shabby little shop. In the window there was a single wand lying on a faded purple cushion. Above the weathered door, a sign read: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C.

"Welcome to Ollivander's, Miss Hart. Every witch or wizard needs a wand so before we start your lessons, we really must pay a visit."

The tall wizard pushed the door open and a rusty bell tingled. Millie went in hesitantly and looked around. Every wall was lined, from floor to ceiling, with thousands of narrow, wooden boxes, all of which were covered in a fine layer of dust.

"Albus!" greeted a weak voice from behind the counter. "What a very long time it's been..."

Dumbledore smiled at the old wizard and put his hand in his pocket, as if trying to hide his wand.

"Years, my friend! It seems like only yesterday I was eleven years old and buying my first wand from your father. You were only an apprentice in those days if I recall correctly"

"An apprentice I may have been but I still remember the wand my father gave you. 11 and a half inches, mahogany with a core of dragon heartstring and phoenix feather. Not too springy but not entirely unyielding. Am I right?"

The professor looked slightly uncomfortable but nodded.

"Can I see it?"

"Now, Julian" said Dumbledore, obviously wanting to change subject. "This is Millie Hart, she'll be starting at Hog warts next year and she hasn't yet got a wand."

Ollivander looked at him, annoyed and focused his attention on the girl standing next to the professor.

"Ah, yes. I remember your mother. She was fifteen too when she bought her first wand. Hers was cherry, I think, 10 and a quarter inches, springy, with a core of unicorn hair. Let's see..."

He turned to face the many boxes that lined his shop and trailed his finger across them, leaving a dust-free streak. He stopped abruptly, halfway around the room.

"Try this one" he said, thrusting a box at Millie. She took it and opened it to see a rather long wand made of dark wood. She disliked it at once but took it out of the box and, at a prompt from the professor, waved it, feeling foolish.

The chair that Dumbledore was sitting on exploded. The old wizard chuckled and repaired the chair while Ollivander quickly took the wand from the teenager's surprised hands.

"No, no, no" he muttered distractedly and carried on his walk around the room. He stopped again, a few metres from the last box, summoned a stepladder and got down two boxes from the top shelf.

"Try these."

Millie did as he said. With the first wand, which was a light colour and rather short, she set fire to her jeans.

With the second, she broke a window.

The wandmaker seemed to be enjoying himself, chuckling as the teenage girl destroyed his shop more and more with every wand she tried.

"Tricky costumer" he chuckled repeatedly under his breath.

The twelfth box he stopped was at the very back of the shelf. It had obviously been there a long time and was covered in a thick layer of dust.

He passed it carefully to Millie, looking at her curiously. She opened the box, blowing the dust off it and carefully touched the wand. It was a very light colour, medium length and with a beautifully engraved handle.

As soon as she touched it, she felt a warmth inside her that touched her very core. She picked it up enthusiastically and waved it ever so slightly.

Small gold sparks leapt from the end of the wand and everything that Millie had accidentally broken fixed itself. She smiled and waved it again gently, laughing as she was engulfed in the sparks.

"I think she's found her wand, Albus" grinned Ollivander "That'll be eight galleons, dear."

While she was counting out the thick gold coins, the old wandmaker took out his wand and muttered: "Expelliarmus!"

Dumbledore's wand flew out of his pocket and Ollivander caught it. After examining it for a few seconds he murmured.

"Can it be?"


	3. Obliviate

Millie looked back and forth between the two old wizards. Ollivander was holding the professor's wand delicately, as if would burn him. He raised his gaze shakily to meet Dumbledore`s.

"Is it really? Is it the Elder wand?"

The professor nodded, memories flooding back to him and draining the sparkle from his eyes, making him look _old._ He walked slowly toward the wandmaker and took the wand from his hands.

"_Obliviate"_ he whispered and Ollivander's eyes slid out of focus.

"What's going on?" asked the teenage girl "What's wrong with your wand?"

"Nothing. Forget about this whole encounter, Miss Hart. It is of no importance."

The wandmaker smiled at Millie.

"That'll be eight galleons. I'm sure you'll dp great things with this wand."

After they had paid and left the dusty little shop, Dumbledore led her to a great many shops. They bought potion ingredients, a cauldron, scales, a silver knife and other tools for potion making.

The professor said that they would buy other school supplies when she had decided whether or not she wanted to do fifth year. Millie was already looking forward to starting at Hogwarts.

When the sun was going down, they both went into the Leaky Cauldron to buy a butterbeer.

"Tomorrow we'll begin your lessons" Dumbledore told her

For the first time in her life, Millie was looking forward to class.


End file.
